Gophers NowA Minnesota Gophers blog by Marcus Fuller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press | TwinCities.com2015-02-26T23:48:25Zhttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/feed/atom/WordPressMarcus Fullerhttp://www.twincities.com/gophershttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/?p=87802015-02-26T23:48:25Z2015-02-26T23:46:39ZEAST LANSING, Mich. -- Remember how much anticipation there was for the start of the Gophers basketball season in the Pitino vs. Pitino opener against Louisville in Puerto Rico. Richard Pitino wants his players to recapture that excitement for Thursday night's game against Michigan State at the Breslin Center. Sounds pretty tough to do, right. The Gophers probably need to win two of their next three games just to make the NIT and defend their title, including winning one Big Ten tournament game. Making any type of postseason should be motivation enough. Pitino seems to be sensing his team is […]

]]>EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Remember how much anticipation there was for the start of the Gophers basketball season in the Pitino vs. Pitino opener against Louisville in Puerto Rico.

Richard Pitino wants his players to recapture that excitement for Thursday night's game against Michigan State at the Breslin Center. Sounds pretty tough to do, right.

The Gophers probably need to win two of their next three games just to make the NIT and defend their title, including winning one Big Ten tournament game. Making any type of postseason should be motivation enough.

Pitino seems to be sensing his team is lacking spark with the NCAA tournament an unrealistic goal with two regular season games left.

"Before shoot around, I told them 'are you as committed and enthusiastic going into this game as you were the Louisville game first game of the season?'" Pitino said on the BTN Live set on the court before the game. "If you're not, it's a problem. I think our guys understand that."

One quality win against the Spartans wouldn't do much to get the Gophers closer to the NCAA bubble, not with a 5-10 conference record. But they would get the program's first victory in East Lansing since the Final Four season in 1996-97.

Minnesota also could build some momentum by winning its last two games into the Big Ten tournament.

Pitino gave his team a pep talk but he needed one too from Florida coach Billy Donovan on Wednesday night. The Gators have also been through a tough season.

"I talked to Billy Donovan last night just about the ups and downs of the season," Pitino said. "So I'm lucky to be able to lean on that and to call those guys (also his father at Louisville). To go up against some of the coaches in this conference it's unbelievable. They make you better. These environments make you better as a coach. I just hope to continue to grow and be able to compete against those guys on a nightly basis."

-- There was a lot of talk about Pitino going with a lot of his younger players in Saturday's loss at Wisconsin, including starting freshman Nate Mason and playing freshmen posts Bakary Konate and Gaston Diedhiou together. The Gophers probably won't do the latter Thursday night if Joey King or Mo Walker aren't in foul trouble.

But I would be surprised if Pitino doesn't give Konate and Diedhiou experience again in his hostile environment. It will be critical for their growth next season.

"Bakary is getting better. Gaston is getting better," Pitino said. "Certainly, Nate Mason has had a very good freshman year. But this team has always been reliant on its seniors."

]]>0Marcus Fullerhttp://www.twincities.com/gophershttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/?p=87652015-02-26T10:20:55Z2015-02-26T09:53:58ZThis has been the year of the freshmen point guard in the Big Ten. Ohio State's De'Angelo Russell and Maryland's Melo Trimble lead the charge. But after those two former McDonald's All-Americans there are five other Big Ten freshmen who have started games this year for their respective teams, including Minnesota's Nate Mason, Michigan State's Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn and Northwestern's Bryan McIntosh. Nairn and Mason, who both rank top 60 in the nation with a plus-2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio, face each other Thursday night when the Gophers play against the Spartans in East Lansing, Mich. Mason leads all Big Ten […]

But after those two former McDonald's All-Americans there are five other Big Ten freshmen who have started games this year for their respective teams, including Minnesota's Nate Mason, Michigan State's Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn and Northwestern's Bryan McIntosh.

Nairn and Mason, who both rank top 60 in the nation with a plus-2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio, face each other Thursday night when the Gophers play against the Spartans in East Lansing, Mich.

Minnesota and Michigan State both decided to start freshmen over senior floor leaders with two of the Big Ten's top guards last year now coming off the bench in DeAndre Mathieu and Travis Trice. Mathieu lost his spot because of poor play and body language. Trice actually is still playing at an All-Big Ten level as a reserve averaging 13.9 points and 5.4 assists per game.

Gophers coach Richard Pitino tried to land Nairn before going strong after Mason last year. The four-star prospect from Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.) committed to Michigan State last September over Minnesota and Oklahoma. Mason, a three-star recruit from Arlington Country Day (Fla.), picked the Gophers over Virginia and Kansas State a month later in October.

This won't be the first time Nairn and Mason played one another. They also met when Arlington Country Day defeated Sunrise Christian in a nationally televised game on ESPN last season.

-- Pitino could end up starting a freshman at point guard again next season with four-star Clinton Christian (MD) senior Kevin Dorsey, who is averaging 22 points per game. Dorsey is only 5-foot-11, but he would be the team's best on-ball defender immediately. Mason could easily move into a combo guard role. Dorsey is a blur in the open floor and gets to the foul line at a ridiculous rate. He went 165 for 198 on free throws in the regular season this year (83.3 percent), which included going to the foul line 19 and 23 times in games.

-- Russell leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring (19 points per game), rebounding (5.8) and assists (5.4). Trimble is tied for second in scoring among conference freshmen behind Indiana's shooting guard James Blackmon Jr. with 16.1 points. McIntosh is fourth with 12.1 points per game this season.

McIntosh (4.5) and Trimble (3.1) are second and third among Big Ten freshmen in assists this year. Trimble leads the Big Ten in free-throw shooting percentage (87.1), attempts (194) and made three free throws (169).

]]>0Marcus Fullerhttp://www.twincities.com/gophershttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/?p=87572015-02-21T21:10:57Z2015-02-21T21:06:07ZMADISON, Wis. -- It would be easy to look at the rotation in Saturday's 63-53 loss at Wisconsin and think Gophers coach Richard Pitino was giving more of his younger players experience to get them ready for next season. There were several moments in the game when freshmen Nate Mason, Gaston Diedhiou and Bakary Konate were on the floor together, as well as sophomore Charles Buggs. Mason started for the first time in a month. Konate had played a combined five minutes in the previous six games. Diedhiou hadn't played more than seven minutes all season. Pitino said he was […]

]]>MADISON, Wis. -- It would be easy to look at the rotation in Saturday's 63-53 loss at Wisconsin and think Gophers coach Richard Pitino was giving more of his younger players experience to get them ready for next season.

There were several moments in the game when freshmen Nate Mason, Gaston Diedhiou and Bakary Konate were on the floor together, as well as sophomore Charles Buggs. Mason started for the first time in a month. Konate had played a combined five minutes in the previous six games. Diedhiou hadn't played more than seven minutes all season.

Pitino said he was not playing for the future.

He benched senior DeAndre Mathieu to start the game for letting frustration affect his play in Wednesday's loss against Northwestern. He didn't play senior Elliott Eliason because he thought Konate was practicing better.

"We're not playing younger guys because I don't want to win," he said. "We're going to try to win on Thursday (at Michigan State). We're going to play the best players. The guys who are playing hard, playing well with a great attitude. If it's the older guys, it will be the older guys. If it's the younger guys, it will be the younger guys."

The Gophers were forced to play Diedhiou more with junior starting power forward Joey King in foul trouble, but he also tried the two freshmen posts together at the same time.

"I didn't like it; I don't like watching it," Pitino said. "But we have to grow with it. It's not like I don't like their potential. I really like their potential. But they're raw and note great at communicating and understanding certain things. And then you go against the No. 1 offense in the country, you're going to make mistakes. Gas made a bunch of mistakes. But Joey forced us not to play him. Mo (Walker) was getting tired towards the end. But I thought (Konate) gave us some good minutes."

-- If you think Pitino is playing young guys this season, the 2015-16 season will be a total youthful approach. The Gophers are bringing in three freshmen guards in Kevin Dorsey, Jarvis Johnson and Dupree McBrayer and freshman center Jonathan Nwankwo. Plus, Pitino is looking to add another wing and post player either from high school or Division I or junior college transfers.

-- After giving up 33 three-pointers in back-to-back losses to Indiana and Northwestern, Minnesota held Wisconsin to 6-for-17 shooting from three-point range Saturday. But Bronson Koenig had 17 points on three clutch three-pointers.

]]>0Marcus Fullerhttp://www.twincities.com/gophershttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/?p=87472015-02-21T17:30:26Z2015-02-21T16:51:27ZMADISON, Wis. -- Andre Hollins gets excited to play Wisconsin and it's not just because of the Border Battle rivalry with Minnesota. "I like the Sterling ball a lot," he said about the Badgers' custom made ball. "I just like the grip on it. It's a good ball. It's a different texture." The Gophers senior guard averages 18.2 points in six career games against the Badgers, excluding when he was sidelined after two minutes with an ankle injury in a game last season at Williams Arena. But Hollins' scoring average is even higher at 20 points per game in three […]

]]>MADISON, Wis. -- Andre Hollins gets excited to play Wisconsin and it's not just because of the Border Battle rivalry with Minnesota.

"I like the Sterling ball a lot," he said about the Badgers' custom made ball. "I just like the grip on it. It's a good ball. It's a different texture."

The Gophers senior guard averages 18.2 points in six career games against the Badgers, excluding when he was sidelined after two minutes with an ankle injury in a game last season at Williams Arena.

But Hollins' scoring average is even higher at 20 points per game in three games at the Kohl Center, where Minnesota (16-11, 5-9) plays 11 a.m. today against No. 5 Wisconsin (24-2, 12-1) in Madison.

"A ball is a ball," said Hollins, who shoots at home with Minnesota's Nike ball. "It doesn't matter. I like it. We're just going to have to go down there and try to get a big road win."

Lately, Hollins has been sinking shots with every ball he touches. He's averaging 20.2 points in his last nine games, while shooting 43 percent from three-point range.

The last time the Gophers won in Madison (the only win there in the last 20 years) was when Lawrence Westbrook scored 29 points in a 78-74 overtime victory in 2009. There was a point in the second half when Westbrook's teammates were just standing back and watching him take over the game.

The same thing might need to happen with Hollins on Saturday. He's carried Minnesota's offense before with 31 points against Rutgers and 28 points against Illinois at home. He also had 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting in the Gophers' only Big Ten road win this season at Iowa.

Of course, the last time the Gophers beat Wisconsin was when Hollins watched from the bench as DeAndre Mathieu and Mo Walker took over with 18 points each in a 81-68 win at the Barn last year. The key to that win was points in the paint with Minnesota outscoring the Badgers 48-24. That's because All-American center Frank Kaminsky was in foul trouble for most of the first half to finish with just nine points in 15 minutes.

The Badgers got revenge against the Gophers in the next two meetings by winning 78-70 in Madison (limiting Gophers to 20 points in the paint) and 83-57 in the Big Ten tournament (limited Gophers to 22 points in the paint and 33 percent shooting). Wisconsin's Ben Brust went off in the last meeting between these two teams with 29 points, but he was a senior last year.

-- The Gophers have given up 33 three-pointers in their last two losses to Indiana (18 threes) and Northwestern (15), so it's more than likely that Wisconsin will have success from beyond the arc Saturday at home. The season-high for the Badgers this year is 12 three-pointers in a win at Northwestern. But Wisconsin ranks fifth in Big Ten games shooting 36.1 percent from the three-point line. Point guard Bronson Koenig shoots 48.1 from three in conference games, ranking third.

-- Hollins quietly passed Kevin McHale (1,704 points) and Sam Jacobson (1,709) to get to fourth on the U's all-time scoring list with 1,715 points. He needs 62 more points to pass Randy Breuer for third on the list behind Willie Burton (1,800) and Mychal Thompson (1,992).

-- Minnesota-Wisconsin has been decided by single digits in every game at the Kohl Center since a 68-45 win by No. 4 Wisconsin in 2007.

]]>0Marcus Fullerhttp://www.twincities.com/gophershttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/?p=87432015-02-19T06:33:12Z2015-02-19T06:32:28ZAfter giving up 33 three-pointers in consecutive games after Wednesday's 72-66 loss against Northwestern, you would think the Gophers' worst days getting burned from long range were behind them. Not so fast. Indiana's 18 three-pointers followed by 15 from the Wildcats on Wednesday were just the beginning. You can bet Wisconsin and Michigan State players are licking their chops waiting for the chance to eclipse what those teams did against Minnesota. Even bench-warmers and clumsy 7-foot centers will have confidence to hit threes against the Gophers now. But the Badgers and Spartans are pretty dangerous outside shooting teams anyway. Michigan […]

]]>After giving up 33 three-pointers in consecutive games after Wednesday's 72-66 loss against Northwestern, you would think the Gophers' worst days getting burned from long range were behind them.

Not so fast.

Indiana's 18 three-pointers followed by 15 from the Wildcats on Wednesday were just the beginning. You can bet Wisconsin and Michigan State players are licking their chops waiting for the chance to eclipse what those teams did against Minnesota.

Even bench-warmers and clumsy 7-foot centers will have confidence to hit threes against the Gophers now. But the Badgers and Spartans are pretty dangerous outside shooting teams anyway. Michigan State is second behind Indiana in Big Ten games at 37.4 percent from beyond the arc. Wisconsin is fifth at 36.1 percent, but it has made 90 threes this year in 13 conference games.

"It's extremely important that we fix this defense," senior guard DeAndre Mathieu said. "Because Wisconsin, everybody on the team shoots it one through five. We'll have to get back to work tomorrow and really focus on not letting teams shoot threes. We'll just see Saturday."

Can you picture it now. Minnesota's players closing out too late Saturday in Madison as Frank Kaminsky and company go bombs away from deep at the Kohl Center. It won't be any easier stopping Wisconsin again March 5 at the Barn.

But the Gophers are trying to approach this grueling last stretch of the regular season with excitement to at least get a shot to prove themselves against quality teams.

"We got something to look forward to," Mathieu said. "Just knowing we have Wisconsin, Michigan State, those games that still give us a boost and give us a chance to get into the tournament. Then you got the Big Ten tournament, which is going to be just as tough, good teams all across the board. Just knowing you have opportunities to still make some noise, still make a run at this tournament, is a reason to put this behind you."

-- Pitino took much longer than usual to address the media after Wednesday's disappointing loss. We found out later that he really let the players have it. Of course, he was livid with the way they played defensively.

"He was really, really upset," Mathieu said. "He said we didn't have any heart, and that this was a let down. We needed this, a lot like last year (against) Northwestern and last year (against) Illinois. We needed this. We came out and laid an egg. You would think having five seniors we would learn from that. We didn't learn from that, so he was really upset, as he should be, as we all should be. We let one get away at home when we normally play really good at home. So he was highly upset."

-- Freshman Nate Mason, who scored a team-high 15 points, hit his head in the second half against Northwestern and had to get tested for a concussion.

"I felt kind of dizzy, so they're still checking on it," he said. "I was a little bit dizzy and had a headache throughout the end of the game, but I think I'll be fine."

]]>0Marcus Fullerhttp://www.twincities.com/gophershttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/?p=87322015-02-19T01:50:30Z2015-02-19T01:44:04ZMidway through the conference season last year, Northwestern coach Chris Collins had one of the surprise teams of the Big Ten winning five of seven games, including upsets over Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota on the road. But the Wildcats, who play the Gophers on Wednesday night at Williams Arena, ended up suffering through a seven-game losing streak en route to finishing 14-19 overall and 6-12 in the conference. Richard Pitino, a fellow rookie Big Ten coach in 2013-14, had a stronger finish than Collins winning the NIT championship in his first season. Their programs both have struggled to take a […]

]]>Midway through the conference season last year, Northwestern coach Chris Collins had one of the surprise teams of the Big Ten winning five of seven games, including upsets over Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota on the road.

But the Wildcats, who play the Gophers on Wednesday night at Williams Arena, ended up suffering through a seven-game losing streak en route to finishing 14-19 overall and 6-12 in the conference.

Richard Pitino, a fellow rookie Big Ten coach in 2013-14, had a stronger finish than Collins winning the NIT championship in his first season.

Their programs both have struggled to take a step forward in Year 2, but Pitino said he's not been forced to completely play for the future like Collins.

"I think it's a different situation, but it takes time," Pitino said Tuesday. "He's kind of going through right now what we'll go through next year. But we won the NIT and had 25 wins. I think that's a pretty good year. He took over a different situation than I took over. But he's recruited well."

Northwestern starts freshmen Vic Law and Bryant McIntosh and sophomore Sanjay Lumpkin with juniors Tre Demps and Alex Olah. They've taken their lumps this year losing 10 straight Big Ten games before a 66-61 overtime win at Iowa on Sunday.

After an 0-4 start in Big Ten play, Pitino tried to go youthful and give freshmen more experience when he started guard Nate Mason. Bakary Konate also became the backup center. And Gaston Diedhiou even got playing time after joining the team in the second semester.

But the Gophers went in a different direction once Elliott Eliason proved he deserved to play with his effort in practice. And DeAndre Mathieu looked uncomfortable coming off the bench for Mason.

"Totally different situations, because (Collins is) playing a bunch of young kids," Pitino said. "He's doing it because he doesn't have a whole lot of other options."

Pitino has four seniors, including starters Mathieu, Andre Hollins and Mo Walker who are eager to finish their career in the NCAA tournament -- no matter how unrealistic it might seem at this point.

"We haven't talked about the NCAA tournament at all this year, but we talked about it (Monday)," Pitino said. "We have five seniors with Kendal (Shell), but four guys who play substantial minutes who want to go to an NCAA tournament. I know that's on their minds. I think the biggest thing is you can't overlook (Northwestern). This team came in and beat us last year. We need quality wins. We got games up on our schedule with quality opponents. We've got opportunities ahead but we can't overlook Northwestern."

-- Hollins, who is ranks fifth in Big Ten games with 16.6 points per game, didn't play against the Wildcats last season because of an ankle injury. He had to watch helplessly as the Gophers blew two opportunities to win the game with missed shots by Mathieu and Walker in the waning seconds.

"Revenge is fresh on my mind," Hollins said. "That was one of the games we needed. That would've helped us have an argument to get into the (NCAA) tournament, so it's a revenge game. It's a payback game."

]]>0Marcus Fullerhttp://www.twincities.com/gophershttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/?p=87222015-02-16T00:34:23Z2015-02-16T00:32:36ZBLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Two years ago, Yogi Ferrell and Andre Hollins were battling for a spot on the World University Games roster. Ferrell ended up getting named to the team. Hollins was sent home disappointed. But Ferrell, who plays Sunday against Hollins and Minnesota at Assembly Hall, still gained a lot of respect for his fellow Big Ten guard. Hollins is entering this year's matchup enjoying the best stretch of his career, averaging 21 points in his last seven games. "I'm definitely fired up for that matchup with Hollins," Ferrell said before the season. "He's definitely a very confident guard, […]

]]>BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Two years ago, Yogi Ferrell and Andre Hollins were battling for a spot on the World University Games roster. Ferrell ended up getting named to the team. Hollins was sent home disappointed.

But Ferrell, who plays Sunday against Hollins and Minnesota at Assembly Hall, still gained a lot of respect for his fellow Big Ten guard. Hollins is entering this year's matchup enjoying the best stretch of his career, averaging 21 points in his last seven games.

"I'm definitely fired up for that matchup with Hollins," Ferrell said before the season. "He's definitely a very confident guard, a very shifty guard. He can definitely get to the rim and pull up for that jumper. That's what I remember from the World University Games (tryouts)."

Last season, Ferrell struggled with 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting from the field in Minnesota's 66-60 win against the Hoosiers in Minneapolis. Minnesota's point guard DeAndre Mathieu was the player of the game with 16 points and five assists.

But Mathieu has struggled offensively for most of the Big Ten season this year. The 5-foot-9 senior hasn't scored in double figures for seven straight games, although he led the team with six rebounds in Thursday's 64-59 win at Iowa.

The Hoosiers are mostly concerned with slowing down Hollins, who had 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting against the Hawkeyes. He's shooting 29 for 53 from three-point range in his last seven games.

"Bottom line is you just cannot allow a guy like Hollins to just play with great freedom in the games," Indiana coach Tom Crean said. "He does a good job of using screens right now and he’s doing a great job of setting screens and they do an incredible job of moving him around. They get him shots early, they get him shots late in the clock and in the middle. He’s got a tremendous step-back and he’s had that for a long time."

]]>0Marcus Fullerhttp://www.twincities.com/gophershttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/?p=87132015-02-15T15:46:34Z2015-02-15T15:46:34ZAfter watching Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Zach LaVine revitalize the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest with an array of between-the-legs beauties, I got inspired to make a list of my top five dunkers in the Big Ten this year. LaVine, a former UCLA guard, is now in an elite club that only previous dunk contest winners such as Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Dr. J are members. But he was just last season a freshman highlight-reel with the Bruins. These Big Ten players below make a strong case to be the best dunkers in the conference (in no order), including […]

]]>After watching Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Zach LaVine revitalize the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest with an array of between-the-legs beauties, I got inspired to make a list of my top five dunkers in the Big Ten this year.

LaVine, a former UCLA guard, is now in an elite club that only previous dunk contest winners such as Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Dr. J are members. But he was just last season a freshman highlight-reel with the Bruins.

These Big Ten players below make a strong case to be the best dunkers in the conference (in no order), including Minnesota's Charles Buggs, who is now starting. Indiana's Troy Williams, also on my list, will play Sunday against the Gophers in Bloomington, Ind.

]]>0Marcus Fullerhttp://www.twincities.com/gophershttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/?p=87032015-02-13T04:14:00Z2015-02-13T03:59:56ZIOWA CITY, Iowa -- The last time Richard Pitino made a starting lineup change for Minnesota against Iowa with Charles Buggs, it didn't work. But this time it did. The 6-foot-9 sophomore forward struggled a bit down the stretch because of a lack of experience in crunch time, but Buggs provided a spark that helped the Gophers snap a seven-game Big Ten road losing streak in a 64-59 win against the Hawkeyes on Thursday in front of 13,756 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. "We went bigger in the starting lineup," Pitino said. "We went with Buggs over Carlos (Morris) because I wanted […]

]]>IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The last time Richard Pitino made a starting lineup change for Minnesota against Iowa with Charles Buggs, it didn't work.

But this time it did.

The 6-foot-9 sophomore forward struggled a bit down the stretch because of a lack of experience in crunch time, but Buggs provided a spark that helped the Gophers snap a seven-game Big Ten road losing streak in a 64-59 win against the Hawkeyes on Thursday in front of 13,756 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

"We went bigger in the starting lineup," Pitino said. "We went with Buggs over Carlos (Morris) because I wanted more size. Buggs played well until he had that meltdown in the last two minutes. He did a lot of really good things defensively, did a lot of good things on (Jarrod) Uthoff for most of it."

Buggs finished with seven points, four rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes. Morris, who had 20 points off the bench in a 77-75 loss Jan. 13 against Iowa at Williams Arena, had six points and a steal in 18 minutes this time off the bench.

Minnesota had a 10-point lead with two minutes left when Buggs started to lose his focus. He had a turnover with a minute left that led to a steal by Uthoff and dunk by Aaron White to cut it to 59-56. Andre Hollins answered with two free throws, but Buggs then fouled Uthoff at the three-point line. That led to Uthoff's three free throws to make it 61-59 with 20 seconds remaining. But that didn't overshadow what Buggs had done earlier.

"I think I'll stick with it a little bit more -- I like it," Pitino said of Buggs over Morris. "I think he's practicing hard and he's getting better. Tonight will be good for him, kind of having that mini-meltdown as I call it. That'll be good for him because he'll grow from it."

-- A month ago, Pitino replaced Morris, DeAndre Mathieu and Mo Walker with Buggs, Nate Mason and Elliott Eliason against the Hawkeyes, but it backfired when the Gophers trailed by as much as 17 points. But they fought back to take the lead late in the second half. Uthoff ended up nailing the game-winner over Hollins to make the Gophers fall to 0-5 in the Big Ten.

Things have changed drastically since then. That was the last time Hollins scored in single digits. The senior captain is averaging 21 points in the last seven games, which included his fourth 20-point game during that stretch.

Mathieu hasn't played well offensively since being benched for Mason, even when he returned to the starting lineup. The senior point guard had just six points on 3 for 10 shooting Thursday, but he led the team with six rebounds and had two steals.

Mason was 13 for 53 shooting from the field at one point since his 17-point performance against Iowa last month. But he came around Thursday with 10 of his 12 points in the second half, including two free throws for a 59-52 lead with 1:16 remaining.

Eliason also gave the Gophers a lift when Mo Walker was in foul trouble. The 6-11 senior had two big free throws, five rebounds and a block in 17 minutes.

-- The Gophers were 2-7 on the road last season in the Big Ten, and they hadn't won a conference road game since beating Northwestern 54-48 on Feb. 16 last year in Evanston, Ill.

-- Pitino mentioned last week after the Purdue victory that the Gophers had the same record as last season through 24 games at 15-9, but he was wrong. Now they have the same record as last season through 25 games at 16-9 and 5-7. But Minnesota was a bubble team last season. It had quality wins against Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana and Florida State at home and against Richmond on the road at this point. Pitino's team also had a strength of schedule top 10 in the nation and a top 40 RPI. The Gophers still have a lot of ground to make up this year, but they certainly have opportunities to pick up more signature wins. They play at Indiana on Sunday. They still play Wisconsin twice and Michigan State on the road. Maybe we shouldn't write them off just yet, if they can play defense like this.

]]>0Marcus Fullerhttp://www.twincities.com/gophershttp://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/?p=86962015-02-13T00:00:08Z2015-02-12T23:56:17ZIOWA CITY, Iowa -- Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff are two of the toughest forward matchups in the Big Ten. It's not just their size that causes problems for opposing defenses. But Iowa's 6-foot-9 White and Uthoff are versatile enough to drill a three-pointer as easily as they would slash baseline to dunk, find an open teammate or swoop in for a putback. In a 77-75 win Jan. 13 against the Gophers in Minneapolis, Uthoff had a season-high 22 points, five rebounds and four blocks, capping his performance off with a game-winning shot with 3.5 seconds left. White also made […]

]]>IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff are two of the toughest forward matchups in the Big Ten.

It's not just their size that causes problems for opposing defenses. But Iowa's 6-foot-9 White and Uthoff are versatile enough to drill a three-pointer as easily as they would slash baseline to dunk, find an open teammate or swoop in for a putback.

In a 77-75 win Jan. 13 against the Gophers in Minneapolis, Uthoff had a season-high 22 points, five rebounds and four blocks, capping his performance off with a game-winning shot with 3.5 seconds left.

White also made his presence felt with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Entering Thursday's game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, second-year Gophers coach Richard Pitino's biggest challenge will be figuring out how to defend Iowa's two frontcourt talents.

Playing a 2-3 matchup zone is his best option, considering starting small forward Carlos Morris and power forward Joey King are clearly not capable of handling Uthoff and White man to man.

Down the stretch in the previous game, Andre Hollins gave up seven inches guarding Uthoff, who had 16 points in the second half. The Wisconsin transfer pretty much had a clean look at the basket on his game-deciding jumper.

"If I would've jumped with him," Hollins said after the game, "I would've fouled him because I was literally right on his hip."

Iowa's forwards are clearly their strength. But Pitino's lack of trust defensively in his forwards is arguably the team's biggest weakness. Hollins has to play out of position because Morris and 6-9 sophomore Charles Buggs are not reliable defenders. King has the size (6-9, 225) hold his own at power forward, but his lack of quickness and athleticism puts him at a huge disadvantage against White.

It will be critical defensively for the Gophers to challenge the Hawkeyes guards with their full-court press, continuing the aggressive pressure that led to 43 forced turnovers in back-to-back wins at home against Nebraska and Purdue.

Maryland forced 19 turnovers in a 71-55 loss at Iowa on Sunday, but the Terrapins didn't press until they were behind. They also committed 16 turnovers and trailed 40-17 at halftime.

-- The Gophers had 17 steals in Saturday's win over Purdue, which were the most in by a Big Ten team in league play since Minnesota had 17 steals and forced 25 turnovers in a win at Iowa in 2009-10.

-- The Hawkeyes can still win big, though, when coughing up the ball at a ridiculous rate. They committed a Big Ten-high 27 turnovers last season in a 25-point win at home against Arkansas Pine-Bluff. How did they do it? Iowa shot 62 percent from the field with 10 three-pointers and held its opponent to 34 percent shooting while dominating the rebounding margin by 15. I don't think I've ever seen a team win with so many turnovers.

-- Minnesota hasn't won in Iowa City since a 62-45 game on Feb. 11, 2011. The Gophers were led by Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams, who combined for 37 points. Tubby Smith went with a huge lineup with 6-4 Blake Hoffarber at point guard, 6-7 Williams at shooting guard, 6-8 Mbakwe at small forward and 6-11 bigs Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson inside.